An estimated one in five high schools and one in ten middle schools engage in some form of student drug testing - including random testing, according to review data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and published in the fall issue of Strategies for Success, a newsletter of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

"Findings indicate that the number of schools conducting … drug testing may be 4,000 - more than double the highest estimates cited previously," the ONDCP reported.

In all, 14.6 percent of all the community and special middle schools and high schools now demeanor some type of student drug testing, the CDC’s School Health Policies and Programs study found. Slightly more than 50 percent of these schools reported conducted casual drug testing among specific groups of students.

Of the schools that drug test, 84 percent utilize urinalysis - a method that detects the demeanor of inactive drug metabolites, but does not be obliged the ability to determine new drug use or impairment. Fifteen percent of schools employ hair follicle testing, the study reported. Eight percent use spittle testing, and three percent use exude plot testing technology.

Of the drugs screened for, 86 percent of schools test for the presence of marijuana. By contrast, 75 percent of govern drug testing programs conceal for cocaine, 50 percent screen in favor of alcohol, and fewer than 20 percent test during nicotine.

Last year the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on School Health resolved, "There is little evidence of the effectiveness of school-based drug testing," and warned that students subjected to random testing programs may experience "an increase in known risk factors for drug use." The Academy also warned that school-based drug testing programs could decline student involvement in extracurricular activities and undermine trust between pupils and educators.

A 2003 cross-sectional revolve in the mind of national student drug testing programs previously reported, "Drug testing, as practiced in recent years in American secondary schools, does not prevent or inhibit student drug use."

A 2007 prospective randomized clinical trial also reported that students who underwent casual drug testing did not differ in their self-reported drug use compared to students at neighboring schools who were not enrolled in deaden with narcotics testing programs.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director.